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Anthony Capo
Anthony "Tony" Capo (1959/1960 – January 23, 2012 ) was a hitman in the DeCavalcante crime family who later became a government witness and entered the witness protection program. Made Man A resident of South Beach, Staten Island, Capo became an associate of the DeCavalcante crime family during the early 1980s under powerful Elizabeth, New Jersey faction leader Giovanni Riggi. Capo was involved in extortion and loansharking activities. Capo is a large man with red hair who loves manicures and playing golf. He is married with three children. He had a bad temper and an eagerness to use violence."Made men: the true rise-and-fall story of a New Jersey mob family" By Greg B. Smith (Google Books) page 160 In the mid-1980s, Capo committed many home invasions dressed as a policeman. On one occasion, he handcuffed an elderly man to his wife and then pulled a ring off his finger. On another occasion, Capo ransacked a man's safe and then locked the victim in it. At one point during the 1980s, Capo attended school to become a certified Asbestos abatement worker. However, Capo later testified that he slept during class and allowed the school's operator to take the test for him. When questioned by a federal prosecutor about his knowledge of asbestos removal, Capo replied, "I wouldn't know asbestos if I was sitting on it."Mob Boss 'Hit' Over Gay Encounters by Jaime Holguin CBS News February 11, 2009 Sometime in the late 1980s, law enforcement listed Capo as a soldier in the DeCavalcante family. Weiss murder In 1989, Capo participated in the murder of Fred Weiss, a Staten Island, New York developer and newspaper publisher. Weiss was under federal investigation for illegal dumping of medical waste and Gambino boss John Gotti was afraid that Weiss might become a government witness. As a favor to Gotti, the DeCavalcantes agreed to murder Weiss. On September 11, 1989, Capo drove DeCavalcante mobsters Vincent Palermo and James Gallo to Weiss' apartment. Palermo and Gallo shot Weiss in the face as he was entering his car."Hit man's confessions Mob turncoat tells court of his blood-soaked life" by Greg B. Smith, New York Daily News, July 26, 2002 Criminal activities By 1990, Capo was working for John D'Amato and reputed capo Anthony Rotondo of the Elizabeth faction in labor racketeering, illegal gambling, extortion and loansharking activities."Mobster Killed For Being Gay" BY GREG B. SMITH New York Daily News June 15, 2001 Capo also ran a DeCavalcante crew in New York City. Between 1986 and 1994. Capo also worked with reputed Gambino crime family mobster Joseph Watts in a loansharking racket that allegedly grossed more than $12 million. After Riggi was indicted in 1990 for labor racketeering and extortion, he appointed Gaetano "Corky" Vastola as the new acting boss. Later in 1990, Riggi was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. However, that same year, Vastola went to federal prison on a 20 year sentence on extortion charges. Riggi replaced Vastola with D'Amato as acting boss. D'Amato murder In January 1992, Capo participated in the murder of acting boss D'Amato. Earlier in 1991, D'Amato's girlfriend, retaliating against D'Amato over an argument, told Rotondo that D'Amato was an active bisexual. She described swinging encounters that D'Amato had in Manhattan sex clubs with both women and men. Rotondo shared this information with underboss Giacomo Amari, and consiglieri Stefano Vitabile. As Capo himself described it in court testimony in 2003, “Nobody's going to respect us if we have a gay homosexual boss sitting down discussing La Cosa Nostra business,”"Telling Court He's Gay, Mob Informer Crosses Line" By ALAN FEUER New York Times October 20, 2009 In addition, many family members believed that D'Amato was controlled by Gambino boss John Gotti. The three men ordered D'Amato's execution and gave the job to Capo, Vincent Palermo, and James Gallo. In contravention of Cosa Nostra rules on the killing of a family boss, the plotters did not ask permission to kill D'Amato from the Mafia Commission in New York. On the day of the attack, D'Amato, Capo and the other two hitmen entered D'Amato's car to drive to lunch. Sitting in the back seat, Capo shot D'Amato four times, killing him. Capo and Rotundo left the body at a safe house, where other mobsters disposed of it. D'Amato's body was never recovered. Informed in prison of D'Amato's execution, Riggi appointed Amari as the new acting boss.WISEGUY GETS LIFE FOR HIT ON GAY MOB BOSS by Thomas Zambito. New York Daily News, June 13, 2006 Majuri murder conspiracy After Amari's death in 1997, Riggi and Vitabile established a "Ruling Panel" to run the family. This panel included capos Vincent Palermo, Girolamo Palermo (no relation) and Newark faction leader Charles Majuri. However, Majuri wanted to control the family himself, and he asked Gallo to murder Vincent Palermo. Instead, Gallo told Vincent about the plot. Vincent now decided to murder Majuri and enlisted Capo and Gallo in the plot. On the day of the attack, Capo, Gallo, and DeCavalcante mobster Joseph Masella went to Majuri's house to ambush him. However, Majuri did not return home. After several hours, the hitmen drove away. After the failed murder attempt, Vincent Palermo decided to cancel the murder contract. During the mid-1990s, Capo stabbed a Gambino associate named Remy in the eye at a Staten Island bar. Capo was flirting with a girl there when Remy interrupted their conversation. Capo objected and Remy cursed at him. Capo then stabbed Remy in the eye and the face. When describing this incident in court in 2003, Capo said he thought Remy had a gun and described him as a "violent individual". Indictments In December 1999, Capo and the DeCavalcante leadership were indicted on charges of labor racketeering, extortion, loansharking, murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. Prosecutors charged Capo with the 1989 Weiss murder, the 1992 D'Amato murder, and involvement in two other murders."New Jersey" By Devin McDonald American Mafia.com To avoid a life sentence for murder, Capo became a government witness. He later testified against the DeCavalcante family, Colombo crime family boss Joel Cacace, and Genovese crime family capo Federico Giovanelli. Capo also warned prosecutors that a stenographer working in the Manhattan office of the U.S. Attorney was passing sensitive information, including lists of suspects, to Giovanelli."Stenographer Investigated in Leaks to the Mob" by Kevin Flynn, New York Times, June 26, 2001 Death Anthony Capo died after a heart attack on January 23, 2012, aged 52. He and his family were in the federal Witness Protection Program. References External links * The Star-Ledger: Mob Story - How a crime family turned dysfunctional by Robert Rudolph Category:2012 deaths Category:American mobsters of Italian descent Category:DeCavalcante crime family Category:Mafia hitmen Category:People who entered the United States Federal Witness Protection Program Category:People from Staten Island Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Date of birth missing Category:Place of death missing Category:Year of birth uncertain